Traditional Scottish Shortbread

The most crumbly, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth traditional Scottish shortbread recipe - brought to you by a real Scot! 

As a Scot with a baking blog, I really have to have a killer shortbread recipe up my sleeve, and this is it!  This traditional shortbread recipe is everything shortbread should be - thick, crumbly, and just melts on your tongue when you take a bite. In Scotland, we were taught how to make shortbread in school at a young age, so this is one of the first things I ever learned to make. 

There's something so comforting about really good shortbread - it's so simple with just three ingredients, but so delicious and satisfying.  I use a shortbread base in other recipes too, like my Millionaire's shortbread (another Scottish treat) and also an adapted shortbread to make my Pistachio Shortbread Cookies. This recipe is great for special occasions or just as a tea-time treat! 

Jump to:

• Why You'll Love This Recipe
• Ingredients
• How to Make Scottish Shortbread
• How to Know When Shortbread is Baked
• Different Ways to Shape Shortbread
• Tip:
• Most Common Mistakes
• Why do you prick holes in Scottish Shortbread? 
• How Is Scottish Shortbread Different From Other Shortbread Recipes?
• Equipment
• Variations
• Storage
• More Scottish Desserts
• Recipe

How to Make Scottish Shortbread

1. Preheat your oven to 320°F / 160°C and line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. 
2. Make sure the butter is completely at room temperature, if you use cold butter it won't combine with the other ingredients properly. Put the butter in a bowl and use a wooden spoon or spatula to soften it a little.  Don't try to cream it, it's just to make it more pliable.  You can use an electric mixer if you prefer but be careful not to overmix. 
3. Add the sugar and mix it into the butter, just until well combined.

4. Sift in the flour and mix it together until the mixture starts to look crumbly.  Then ditch the spoon and use your hands to squeeze it together into a smooth dough with no lumps of butter.  Again, be careful not to overwork it, just go until it is incorporated. 

5. Put the dough into the prepared cake pan and use your hands to smoosh it into all the corners and make it as flat and level as possible.  It is a very soft dough so should be easy to manipulate into the pan. 
   

6. Use a fork to prick holes all over the dough in straight lines. Don't push the fork all the way through the dough, you just want to go about half way.  
   
   Note that because this is such a high butter content recipe, the holes in your shortbread may disappear during baking, depending on your butter temperature.  They are still doing their job of releasing steam, but if you want to keep the holes for aesthetic purposes, chill the shortbread dough in the pan for 30 minutes before baking.  
   
   Optional: If desired, sprinkle a little extra sugar on top of the shortbread dough before baking.  
   
7. Bake shortbread for 25-35 minutes until it is just starting to turn golden brown on the outer edges, it will still be very pale on top.  Baking time will vary depending a multitude of factors, so it's best to keep an eye out for the golden brown edges rather than relying on a set bake time.  Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for about an hour before removing.

8. For clean slices, try to cut your shortbread while it is still slightly warm. Remove from the pan and use a long, sharp knife to cut straight down into the shortbread - make the pieces as big or small as you like! 
   
9. Important step: Enjoy your delicious biscuit with a cup of tea. Any Scot will tell you you can't have shortbread without tea!  My personal favorite is Earl Grey tea.  

How to Know When Shortbread is Baked

There are so many variables that affect bake time here that it is impossible for me to give an exact bake time that will work for everyone.  That's why it is so important that you know what signs to look out for to know when your shortbread is done.  

Shortbread stays fairly pale and may look underbaked at first glance.  We bake it a a lower temperature than regular cookies because we want the thick Scottish shortbread to bake all the way through before the top starts to brown.

By the time the very edges of the shortbread are just starting to get a hint of golden brown, the rest of the shortbread should be baked.  

This is a very soft and crumbly shortbread recipe, if you want your shortbread to be a little more crisp, you can leave it in for an extra 5 minutes after this point.  

Different Ways to Shape Shortbread

There are so many different ways to shape shortbread.  

• In a square pan - For traditional shortbread fingers, bake the shortbread dough in a square pan like I did here.
  
• In a round pan - To get wedges or slices of shortbread, press dough into a round pan instead of square and bake exactly the same as above, then when it's done slice it into pieces like a pie or a cake for shortbread triangles. 
  
• In a mold - You may have seen shortbread baked in elaborate designs, this is done using a shortbread mold. You can find these online, like this one with Scottish thistles on it. 
  
• Roll and cut out - You can roll out the dough with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface and cut the shortbread into shapes with a cookie cutter, just like with sugar cookie dough.  To help the cookies hold their shape in the oven though I recommend chilling them after cutting them out and before baking to prevent spreading and give you perfect shortbread cookies. 
  
• Slice and Bake - For that pretty sliced shortbread look, roll the dough into a thick log shape and wrap it in plastic wrap.  Place in the fridge for an hour before unwrapping and slicing into rounds.  Place the rounds on a cookie sheet and bake.  I use this method to make my pistachio shortbread cookies. 

Most Common Mistakes

These are some of the most common mistakes people make when making Scottish shortbread:

• Overworking the dough - If you mix the dough too much you will develop the gluten in the flour and your shortbread might turn out dense and chewy, or the butter can start to melt and make the dough greasy.  Just mix it until combined and no more.  This is another reason why I recommend making this recipe by hand rather than with a mixer. 
  
• Getting the bake time wrong - There are so many variables that affect bake time so often people might overbake or undertake their shortbread.  See my section above on how to know when shortbread is baked. 
  
• Butter is the wrong temperature - If your butter is too warm it will star to melt as you work it and the shortbread dough will become greasy. The butter should be room temperature, but not so soft that it is starting to get melty. About 1-2 hours out of the fridge should be perfect.
  
• Using the poor quality ingredients - As there are so few ingredients in shortbread, it really matters what kind of quality the ingredients are that you use, particularly the butter.  
  
  The higher the fat content of the butter, the better - you will really taste the difference and feel it in the wonderful mouth texture.  I like to use Kerrygold butter, but any good quality butter will do.

Why do you prick holes in Scottish Shortbread? 

Scottish shortbread is pricked, or 'docked' as it is called, to help release steam and stop the shortbread from getting soggy.  This is typically done with the tines of a fork.  Because it is so thick, this is the best way to ensure a crisp texture while still being crumbly and melt-in-the-mouth.  

Depending on the temperature of your butter and how much flour the recipe contains, the holes may disappear during the baking process. That's okay, they are still doing their job!  If you want to keep the holes for aesthetic purposes, you can chill the dough for 30 minutes before baking (after docking it).  

How Is Scottish Shortbread Different From Other Shortbread Recipes?

Well, first of all, we invented it! So technically all shortbread is Scottish shortbread!  But traditional Scottish shortbread tends to be thicker than other shortbread cookies.  

Also, you see a lot of adapted shortbread recipes that use things like cornstarch, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract.  These are all fine, but they are no longer considered a classic Scottish shortbread, which typically only has the three basic ingredients.  

Equipment

This Scottish shortbread recipe requires minimal equipment and can be made with just a bowl and a wooden spoon.  In fact, it's actually better this way as it will prevent you from overworking the dough.  

• Large Bowl

• Wooden Spoon

• Baking Pan or Cookie Sheet - depending on the method you plan to use for baking the shortbread (see 'Different Ways To Shape Shortbread' section above).  

Variations

• Chocolate Chip Shortbread - One of my favorite cookies is chocolate chip shortbread.  Mix ⅔ cup chocolate chips into the dough before baking.  I think it works best with dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate, but use whatever kind you like. 

• Nuts - Add some crunchy textures to your shortbread cookies by adding some nuts.  I added chopped pistachios to mine to make my Pistachio Shortbread Cookies.

• Chocolate Dipped - Dip or drizzle your shortbread in chocolate for some extra indulgence. 

• Twice-baked Shortbread - for extra crunchy shortbread, place the shortbread fingers back on a cookie sheet after slicing and bake them again for 10 minutes to make them super crunchy - like shortbread biscotti! 

Storage

Scottish Shortbread can keep for weeks if stored properly. Keep it in an airtight container or something like a cookie jar (or biscuit tin as we have here in Scotland).  It will last for up to 4 weeks, but I doubt it will be around that long before it gets eaten up! 

More Scottish Desserts

Want more Scottish recipes? As a Scottish lass, I've got you covered! Check out some of my favorite Scottish desserts that I enjoyed growing up:

Recipe